A person has the same thumbprint all his life. Even though a person's hands grow, his thumbprints stay the same.

Even identical twins have different thumbprints.

If you injure the tip of your thumb, your skin will grow back in the same pattern and eventually your original thumbprint will return.

Use a stamp pad to print your thumbprint. Get a closer look by using a magnifying lens. Is your thumbprint similar to one of the following patterns?

ARCH

LEFT LOOP

RIGHT LOOP

WHORL

TENTED ARCH

Our 4th grade class at Burnsville Elementary School will be checking our fingerprint patterns and graphing the results. If your class would like to participate, please return the following information to Mrs. Bleigh during the 1997-98 school year:

Teacher's Name:

School:

School Address:

Grade Level of Participants:

Number of Participants:

E-mail address of Project Leader:

We would like to know the percentage of students in your class with the fingerprint patterns listed on this page. (You may want to print the page before you begin this activity.) Send your results to us as soon as possible to bbleigh@access.k12.wv.us